Maundy Thursday (OT)

Exodus 12:1-16
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Ex 12:1–16). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The LORD tells Moses and Aaron how the people are to celebrate the Passover. But more importantly how they are going to face the last plague against the Egyptians. God sent 9 previous plagues against the Egyptians and in each case protected the Israelites from the plague. Here in this final plague, God tells them how they will avoid the death this plague will bring.

God has them sacrifice a Lamb. They spread the blood of the Lamb on their door frames. They roast the sacrifice. They are to eat it all, and what they do not consume should be burnt up. The Israelites are to eat this meal dressed and ready to leave on a trip. God is going to lead his people out of the land of Slavery and the land of Egypt. He is going to take them into the wilderness.

If people do not do this there are devastating consequences. The people who eat leaven are to be cut off from the people of Israel. This is the only meal in which they should partake. They will continue to eat unleaven bread for Seven days. Otherwise they will be cut off from the Holy Assembly.

God has given the people a great command and a great celebration. It would mean death for the people who disobey this great command. It will mean life for those people who partake in this great celebration. Jesus Christ also partakes in this same celebration with his disciples. He proclaims victory over Death. He proclaims freedom from slavery to sin and death. Christ becomes the Passover Lamb offered for the forgiveness of sins. He smears his blood upon his temples, your bodies. He offers his flesh for you to consume. He offers Life and Salvation through his death on the cross. He stands outside the assembly as Death takes him and leaves us behind.

PS: Alternative Old Testament Lesson is Exodus 24:3-11